Meade LX90 10", my final straw.

[AndrewJ]

Gday Matthew

I dont disagree with a lot of whats been said,
but i'm also a realist on a budget.
Yes i did know of some of the bugs when i purchased,
and others have been found since.
New ones have recently come about as a result of the new hardware used in the 497EP and Audiostar handboxes.

Again, there is now a wealth of knowledge on the net re the known problems, and how to get around most "if you want to"
so caveat emptor.

PS i keep getting patches and warnings for my PC operating system
ie how its not safe and can be compromised by hackers
( And they want me to do internet banking ???? )
I would consider that a product more "not fit for purpose"
than my telescope , but i still use it.

Andrew

[g__day (Matthew)]

When all is said and done - I bet you will enjoy the OTA firmly mounted on an EQ6 a lot more than the gear it arrived with when it comes to astro-photography!

From memory Meade had problems with their uber expensive Maxmount - to handle 20" RCs - it was withdrawn from sales I recall for over a year. Making really good mounts must be part science / part magic I sense!

[PeterM]

As this is now turning into a "Meade" product discussion I will let you know my experience.
My 12inch LX200
Optics - ACF superb as advertised
GoTo - superb as advertised
Mount - Solid as advertised
Linking to and controlling by PC - SKYX Pro, CCD Soft, Orchestate all work perfectly well with LX200.
Usage - minimum 120 nights per year @ about 5 hours per night = 600 hours usage per year and some 6-10,000 gotos and tracking (ok - short up to one minute exposure in al az mode) no issues.
In use since June 2007.
No issues that cause me any concern.
And the 12inch package for under $6500, geez I really don't know where this thread is going. The LX200 product does what it is advertised to do and better, bang for your buck is huge. If you have an issue then you have the best trained people in Oz through Mike and Don at Bintel to assist.

PeterM.

[g__day (Matthew)]

I've only had good experiences at Bintel Sydney too!

The LX200 is well above the LX90 in precision and accuracy isn't it?

[AndrewJ]

Gday Matthew

When all is said and done - I bet you will enjoy the OTA firmly mounted on an EQ6 a lot more than the gear it arrived with when it comes to astro-photography!

You would lose yr money
I am portable and 90% visual, hence am happy with how it works.
Portable AltAz with binoviewers walks all over a GEM for setup speed and goto accuracy.
If i was going to go totally Astro, i would certainly look at a good GEM,
but i do have an EQ6 and funnily enuf, people have written external code
to make it "work better than / without with the supplied Hbx""
Just another "patch" of sorts to get the required functionality???

Making really good mounts must be part science / part magic I sense!

Not really. Its making them to a cost/quality breakpoint that meets peoples requirements that is the hard bit.

The LX200 is well above the LX90 in precision and accuracy isn't it?

Yep, but it also has its own bugs.
PEC in the Sth Hemi being one. Again, most are well known and patched,
but out of the box it can be a problem.

Andrew

[Poita (Peter)]

I gotta say I am extremely happy with my 10" LX200R OTA as well, very, very nice piece of kit, and the ACF optics are marvellous.

Originally Posted by PeterM

As this is now turning into a "Meade" product discussion I will let you know my experience.
My 12inch LX200
Optics - ACF superb as advertised
GoTo - superb as advertised
Mount - Solid as advertised
Linking to and controlling by PC - SKYX Pro, CCD Soft, Orchestate all work perfectly well with LX200.
Usage - minimum 120 nights per year @ about 5 hours per night = 600 hours usage per year and some 6-10,000 gotos and tracking (ok - short up to one minute exposure in al az mode) no issues.
In use since June 2007.
No issues that cause me any concern.
And the 12inch package for under $6500, geez I really don't know where this thread is going. The LX200 product does what it is advertised to do and better, bang for your buck is huge. If you have an issue then you have the best trained people in Oz through Mike and Don at Bintel to assist.

PeterM.

[tonybarry (Tony)]

I've an LX90-10" ACF with AudioStar, purchased in July from Don at Bintel (Sydney). It has had a couple of issues, unlike the LX90-8" GPS that it replaced.

First was a stripped collimation Bob's Knob. Fixed without charge.

Second was a peculiar vibration issue, where the scope was very unsteady on the tripod. The issue was due to the central vertical axis not landing on the tripod top; the actual land was done by the base cover which was not strong and allowed the axis to vibrate easily. Fixed again without charge, and I made up a central spacer to ensure the axis was the point of contact between the tripod and the scope.

I use the LX90-10" for asteroid occultation work, in Alt-az, and its Gotos appear to be done to Jnow rather than J2000 co-ordinates. Using J2000 will not land me where I want ...

The tracking is very good, and there is little periodic error (not the correct term for an Alt-az mount, but you get the idea).

The optics are also very good, although the ACF has no focal reducers of the amount that the SCT optics had available. This is a bit of a PITA for occ. work, but that's life. Focusing is smooth and does not slip with altitude changes.

I am pleased with the 10", although I think the LX90-8" GPS is still the best scope I ever had. I can recommend the Bintel crew for their good attitude to product support.

(Disclaimer - I have no financial affiliation with Bintel or Meade).

Regards,
Tony Barry

[Poita (Peter)]

I find the AP focal reducer works well with the 10" ACF scope.

[AndrewJ]

Gday Tony

I use the LX90-10" for asteroid occultation work, in Alt-az, and its Gotos appear to be done to Jnow rather than J2000 co-ordinates. Using J2000 will not land me where I want ...

ANY "user" supplied coordinates are required as JNow.
ie using Hbx entered coords, or any user objects, comets, asteroids etc.
Anything in the internal database uses the epoch of that data
( IIRC stars are J2000, but not sure on the deepsky stuff )
The 497s have no precession, PM or refraction routines
so what is entered is what is used.
The LX200s use precession and refraction for internal databases,
and apply PM for stars
but again, all user supplied data must be JNow.
( And before you ask, there is no easy way round it )

Andrew

[PeterM]

[QUOTE=tonybarry;778711]I've an LX90-10" ACF with AudioStar, purchased in July from Don at Bintel (Sydney). It has had a couple of issues, unlike the LX90-8" GPS that it replaced.

The optics are also very good, although the ACF has no focal reducers of the amount that the SCT optics had available. This is a bit of a PITA for occ. work, but that's life.

Hi Tony
There are several reducers that will be very useful with the ACF scopes. The AP has been noted. I have been using the Optec F7 Ultra widefield with the 12inch and this is a a very fine reducer for this telescope. I have recently purchased the Optec F6.2 Lepus and this is specifically designed for the ACF scopes. They do require the correct spacer adapter for CCD / DSLR camera.
The Lepus is $259 from Sirius Optics and I think there maybe 1 or 2 in stock. The adapter is about $80?? double check that with Ron when they arrive next week.
Yeah yeah I declare as usual that I work for Sirius Optics once a fortnite.
PeterM.